Bruce Von Stiers

In this age of sims, it seems like every gaming company is jumping on the band wagon. Even Microsoft. Their approach was a little different though. The folks in the game division at Microsoft came up with a sim about zoos. The title of the game is Zoo Tycoon. The game was actually developed by Blue Fang Games and distributed by Microsoft.

The game can be played two different ways. There is a Free Play mode that lets you roam around and make up a free form zoo. The other mode is scenario based in which you have to obtain goals for a win or lose conclusion. The preferred gameplay for beginners is the scenario play. In the Free Play mode, you don’t have very many rules and regulations, so the gameplay doesn’t have a tight structure.

The game is about building and maintaining a successful zoo. You will start out with just a few exhibits and build from there. The tutorials can be kind of funny, especially one that tells you to destroy part of a lion’s exhibit fence and then scolds you for doing so.

You will have to learn what types of fences to put around your animal exhibits. Some animals will burst through weak fences and then you will have chaos among your guests. The terrain is also essential. You can’t have a gazelle living in a desert mountain terrain exhibit. Each exhibit needs to conform to the natural environment that the animal came from. Penguins don’t hang out in the grasslands do they?

To go along with your animal exhibits, you will need a concession stand or two. Your guests will need to be stuffing their faces as they walk around making faces at the animals. You will need to hire zookeepers for your exhibits as well. These guys make sure the exhibits are kept up and the animals fed well.

When building an exhibit, first decide which animal you are going to show off. There is a panel on the left side of the game screen that opens up to reveal the animals available to add to an exhibit. Select an animal for the exhibit. Then click on the Animal Facts button underneath the thumbnail pictures. This will bring up an information box about that particular animal. Here you will learn about the environment that the animal came from and what its dietary and other physical needs are. Using this information, build your exhibit fence; add the appropriate terrain, plants and other environmental elements. Then place your animal in the exhibit.

To get to your exhibit, the game has you build paths. They can be dirt paths or paved. Some animals aren’t real thrilled at people getting too close to them, so be careful where you place the zoo patron paths.

As you make more money, the zoo needs to improve. You will have to have constant upkeep of the exhibits and monitor the animals. An unhappy animal will lead to less people visiting the exhibit and ultimately having to close it. So keep your animals happy and content. And be sure not to put two animals together who might not get along. Your zoo patrons will not want to see two animals fighting. Well, some of them might.

Zoo Tycoon is an entertaining simulation game that takes some thought and careful planning. You can’t just go in and put together a San Diego Zoo quality simulated zoo without a lot of hard work and ingenuity. It will be fun for all members of the family.

System Requirements

Windows 98/ ME/ 2000 / XP
64 MB RAM (128 MB RAM for Windows XP)
233MHz PC
300 MB Free hard drive space
4MB RAM video card
Audio board w/ speakers or headphones